Something Different
by MegEvans1983
Summary: When Traci Nash meets new TO Marlo Cruz, she feels something changing. There's an energy between them, that Traci has never experienced before. Something new, something different. WARNING: Femslash! This story is M-rated and will contain some language, sexual references and adult themes that may not be suitable to read for everyone.
1. Desire

**A/N: **Yes! yet another multi-chapter story from yours truly :)

This one isn't in my usual genre though, as I'm trying out the genre of femslash for this one - featuring the possible pairing of Traci Nash and Marlo Cruz. So, if you aren't into femslash, then I'd suggest turning away from this story.

Feedback would be very much appreciated, as I'm trying to navigate my way through the femslash universe.

This entire story is M-rated so you're forewarned.

Special thanks to ** rookieD **for looking this through :)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own **Rookie Blue**.

* * *

[chapter one]

* * *

**De-sire (v). To wish or long for; want. (Synonyms: covet, crave, want, wish).**

* * *

Traci Nash has a lot of things going for her these days despite how this past year has evolved. She has a beautiful son, a loving mother and a great group of friends.

Just a week or so ago her best friend; Andy had returned from her undercover stint with their colleague Nick, so tonight they are having a girls night – the two of them and Gail – at Andy's place.

Standing by the vanity in her bathroom and getting ready for just _that_, her thoughts however aren't centering themselves around their girl's night tonight, but rather around what had happened in the women's room at _The Penny_ last night.

Holding the tube of mascara in one hand, Traci applies the dark coloring with the other using a brush. She has always thought of herself as being open to new things, God knows that she in her relationship with Jerry had experienced stuff she'd never thought even possible when with Dex.

_Jerry_.

God, she misses him so much.

_His_ touch.

_His_ smell.

_His_ voice.

Which is another reason why what happened last night is so far from any reality Traci has ever known. It had been a mind numbingly thing, and if she has to be honest with herself then it's something that she won't mind experiencing again.

With_ her_.

With _Marlo_.

* * *

_Traci and her friends had been sitting at one table, while their Superior Officers consisting of Sam, Oliver and Marlo had been sitting at another. _

_Andy and Sam had been sending each other mixed signals for the past couple of days, which had opted them to send each other stolen glances in the bar. _

_She didn't know what was up with her best friend and her new colleague in civvies, but it was plain as day that they were still deeply in love with each other._

_Traci's eyes had at one point been drawn to Marlo's, and she had sent Traci a playful smile with those plush lips of hers. _

_Ever since Cruz had come to 15, Traci had felt a weird energy between them. Seemingly innocent happenings like Marlo standing a little too close to her at the coffee station or brushing up against her when reaching for a file folder across the table. _

_Traci found herself actually checking Marlo out from across the room. Her contagious laughter, the way she would tuck a strand of errant hair behind her ear, but most of all the way she carried herself – utter confidence oozing off of her. _

_She had been in a trance when she'd witnessed the woman lick her hand with her pink tongue before pouring some salt onto it. Marlo licked the salt off of her hand before grabbing a glass of tequila and downing the entire thing. The second she bit into the slice of lime with her teeth Traci had been a goner. Seeing her pink tongue peak out and licking up the left-over liquid off of her lips, __**she**__ found herself imagining those lips, tongue and teeth marking __**her**__ up._

_Traci __**wanted**__ Marlo. _

_Her entire body clenched and her panties were wet, as she bit into her bottom lip recognizing the signs of arousal, despite the long deprive. _

_What was going on with her?_

_She had never been aroused by a woman, __**ever. **__Traci had always been attracted to men, men who weren't necessarily alpha-males, but who like Jerry had had a type of feminine energy surrounding them. This had for a very long time allowed her the room to be 'the guy' in the relationship, but for the first time __**ever**__ Traci wanted to experience being 'the girl'. _

_Marlo on the other hand was a tomboy at heart, high-fiving with Shaw any chance she got, and her friendship with Sam was driving McNally up the wall, while Swarek didn't see any problem with it. _

_Because she was one of the guys._

_Except of course when she made Traci __**want**__ her._

"_Trace?" Andy's voice cut through the craving like a proverbial butcher knife bringing her back to the present._

_A pair of dark eyes from across the room bore themselves into Traci's making her heart beat furiously inside her chest. _

"_Yeah!" Traci's very raw voice squeaked when she tore her eyes away from Marlo's. Seeing the concerned look on her friend's face, she added an "I'm fine," before nodding her head. __**She**__ was safe territory to look at as opposed to looking into Marlo's dark eyes._

"_To the band being back together," Chris toasted, as the group of friends held up their glasses of liquids toasting the fact that Nick and Andy were back in the fold._

"_Here, here," Andy and Nick chimed in in unison, while Traci's eyes traveled once more to Marlo's. There was no doubt in her mind that the woman knew what type of effect she was having on her, and for some unfathomable reason Traci didn't want it to stop._

* * *

Giving her reflection an once-over in the mirror Traci decides that she's ready to spend the night with Andy and Gail.

Them spending girl's night at Andy's condo at least lessens the chances of her running into Marlo in a more public venue.

Traci doesn't even know how she'll be able to look at the woman again without blushing furiously, and how are they ever expected to work together again?

The word on the street is that she's bi – Cruz that is.

But Traci has always been into men, _not_ women, which is also why she's shocked about what happened last night. What _she_ did, what she let _Marlo_ do.

It's complicated is all.

Checking her watch, she notices it's almost seven. Traci's due at Andy's in less than thirty minutes, and it's a good ten minute drive as it is, so she better get a move on.

Upon arriving in the kitchen, she leans down and kisses Leo on the top of his head. "You finished your homework, honey?"

"Yup!" Leo nods his head, popping the 'p' with his tongue. "All done!" he proudly exclaims. Wanting to make sure it's true; Traci looks to her mother for confirmation, who nods her head affirmatively.

"That's my boy," Traci ruffles his curls before sitting down next to him at the table checking out the school books lying on the table.

"Sweetheart?" her mother asks stirring the pot on the stove before continuing. "You want something to eat before you go?"

"Nah, I'm good, mom." Traci declines despite the fact that the smell is alluring to her senses. "Besides, I think Andy has gone all out with snacks."

"Why can't _I_ go?" Leo pouts, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Because this is a party for grown-ups _only_, Mister," she tells her son touching his nose with hers. Traci knows that he misses Andy, and they _will_ play catch-up soon, but she desperately needs to be alone with her friends tonight and try and keep this Marlo business at bay.

"Leonard?" Traci's mother says, being the only person, who calls Leo by his full name. "Put your books away, and then set the table."

"Okay, Grandma'," he says packing up his books before carrying them into his room.

"Say hi to Andy and Gail," she tells her daughter when Traci puts her jacket on and picks up her purse.

"I will," Traci smiles at her mother before quickly kissing her on the cheek. "Thanks for watching him, mom," she looks at her mother gratefully, knowing how much she has given up to make sure that her daughter and grandson are happy.

"Always," the elderly woman winks at Traci, as she watches her daughter say goodbye to Leo.

* * *

_Traci's mouth was raw, her mind filled to the brink of unsavory thoughts as Marlo's eyes continued to bore into hers. She needed some space, some reprieve and she needed it now._

"_You're looking awfully pale," Andy pointed out, while Gail, Dov, Chris and Nick were busy settling a bet made earlier in the day._

"_I need to use the restroom," Traci tore her eyes away from Marlo's once again centering them on her best friend. _

"_Don't let me stop you," she smiled at her before Traci got up and walked past the TO's table, refusing to make eye contact with Marlo._

"_What's going on with her?" Gail whispered to Andy, who was watching Traci disappear behind the door to the women's restroom._

"_I don't know..," she shrugged her shoulders as baffled by Traci's recent strange behavior as Gail was._

"_I have to pee." Marlo announced at the other table standing up, making both Sam and Oliver look at her like she'd grown an extra head._

_Marlo placed both hands on Sam's shoulders before shooting the glaring Andy a provocatively look from across the room. _

"_Don't let __**us **__stop you," Sam quipped before she walked off in the direction of the restrooms._

"_Oh, believe me. __**I **__won't," she hollered from the distance. _

"_Retract your claws, McNally," Gail amended when Sam's eyes landed on Andy's frame, while the door to the women's restroom closed behind Marlo. _

* * *

"Hi!" Andy's grin is contagious, as she's standing in the doorway greeting Traci.

"Hey, there yourself," Traci smiles back at her friend, handing over a bouquet of flowers she's bought as a hostess gift.

"Come on in," she waves her friend inside before closing the door behind her.

"What's with the good mood all of the sudden?" Traci asks perplexed considering Andy's recent bout of jealousy where Sam's friendship with Marlo is concerned.

"Let's just say..," Andy declares walking into the kitchen with the flowers in her hands searching for a vase. "That some things were made clear for me last night."

"I'll say..," Traci remarks with a grin remembering the very tight embrace between Sam and Andy that she had walked in on upon exiting the restroom last night.

While Andy finds a vase to put the bouquet of flowers in, her friend's mind is reeling.

It hadn't been what she had walked in on Sam and Andy doing _outside_ the restroom that had her reeling though - it had been what had happened _inside_ that very room.

Between _her_ and _Marlo_.

* * *

_Traci stood by the sink in the restroom, gazing at the reflection staring back at her._

_She was a __**mess**__._

_Blowing out a breath of air, she turned on the tap, splashing her face with ice-cold water in lieu of a reboot button. _

_What was going on with __**her**__?_

_She had never felt like __**this**__ before. _

_She __**liked**__ men._

_**Loved **__them in fact._

_So, why was it that the image of Cruz sucking on a lemon slice was turning everything inside her on fire?_

_Shutting off the tap, she reached for a paper towel when the door opened, and in walked none other than the very person, who was making Traci question __**everything**__. _

_The growing smile on Marlo's face was making it difficult for Traci to breathe. To contain what little self-control she had left, she tossed the paper towel into the basket asking, "What's so funny?"_

"_You." She replied wetting those full lips of hers with her tongue._

_Traci couldn't keep herself from smiling in return at __**that**__, she had after all been ogling the woman the entire evening, and the thoughts that had been running through her mind hadn't exactly been PG-13. _

"_Me, eh?" She asked running her fingers through her hair. "Too bad I don't swing __**that**__ way," Traci pointed out, feeling far bolder than she was feeling. _

"_You don't say?" Marlo arched a daring eyebrow at __**that **__remark. She had a feeling that she was looking at the one person, who could actually give her a run for her money._

_She liked __**that**__, she liked that a lot._

_Marlo was used to getting her way – both __**on **__and __**off **__the job. But something about __**this **__woman standing in front of her made her want to test the waters. She knew about Traci's past with Barber, and knew about her kid, which granted were circumstances she had never had with previous partners, but something inside of her didn't care._

_She wanted the experience._

_She __**wanted**__ Traci. _

_Cruz had her arms folded in front of her chest accentuating her breasts in that tight baseball jersey t-shirt she was wearing. Walking towards her, Traci noticed how the jeans she was wearing hugged her hips and legs. _

"_I do." Traci tilted her head up brazenly as the proximity between the two was doing crazy things to her insides._

_Coming to an abrupt halt in front of her, Marlo licked her lips seductively before reaching out for Traci's arm._

"_You're very beautiful, Traci," she whispered softly. Marlo trailed her calloused finger tips up Traci's bare arm, as goose bumps rose on her skin. "Very beautiful indeed," she bit into the corner of her lower lip with her teeth, as Traci could feel heat pooling in her lower body._

"_What are you…what are you…do-do-doing?" she stammered feeling like the scales between them had just shifted. Traci watched on mesmerized, as Marlo placed her index finger against her lips shushing her._

"_Shh..," she hushed moving her hands to frame her face. "Don't think, just feel..," Marlo's confident lips brushed against Traci's quivering ones. _

"_What __**are **__we doing?" Traci gasped against Marlo's firm lips. Pulling slightly back, creating an inch of space between them, she wrapped her hands around Marlo's lower arms like steel bands. Seemingly keeping her at bay, while simultaneously not wanting her to go anywhere. _

"_Hey," Marlo moved them, and before Traci knew what was happening, they were standing inside a closed stall, her back pressed against the wall. "It's okay, just let yourself go," her plush lips made contact with Traci's warm skin underneath her ear. She felt her eyes close, as if on their accord when Cruz' pink tongue traced a trail from her ear and down to the pulse point on her throat. Her head made contact with the wall behind her, as her hands lost their hold on Cruz' lower arms, and were instead being pressed flat against the wall._

"_Oh my God..," Traci found a spot on the ceiling, and fixed her eyes on it trying to ride out the wave when Marlo's lush lips moved from her throat and to the cleavage left visible by the purple halter top she was wearing. Marlo's hands travelled down to Traci's hips, covered in the leather leggings she'd chosen to wear that specific night. _

"_That's right baby," Marlo pressed one leg in-between Traci's giving her some much-needed friction. Her hips automatically began to move against the inserted leg feeling her body letting go of her mind. "That's it," she incited moving her hands to Traci's butt kneading the cheeks. _

"_Fuck..," Traci gasped, opening her mouth wide – lost in her orgasm. Seeing the opening Marlo licked her way into the deep recesses of her mouth. Tangling her fingers in Cruz' dark mane, she pulled her impossibly closer getting into the act of being pleased in a way she'd never experienced before._

_Jerry had been amazing – both __**in**__ and __**out**__ of bed, but there was something about __**this**__. Something about __**Marlo**__ that excited Traci in a way that none of her previous partners – Jerry included - had ever been able to do. _

_Just when she had thought that the ride was about to be over, Marlo did something that scared, yet excited Traci. She moved her hands from her butt and to the front of her leggings. _

_Despite everything, Traci's a modern kind of girl okay? And notwithstanding her initial reluctance in being seduced by Cruz, she knew what the next step would likely be. And God forgive her, but she __**wanted**__ it, __**needed**__ it, __**craved**__ it._

_Pressing her forehead against Traci's, Marlo whispered her next words. "Trust me," she pecked a kiss at the side of Traci's mouth before moving her fingers past the waistband of the leggings. _

_She inhaled sharply feeling Marlo bypassing the waistband of her panties, past the line of hair before finally reaching the desired destination. _

"_Yes..," Traci whined at the initial feeling of Marlo's calloused fingers on her clit. Biting into her lower lip, she let her head fall backwards, closing her eyes and getting lost in the sensation of Marlo pleasing her feminine core. _

"_That's good," Marlo coaxed her, enthralled by the sight of Traci nearing the edge. "Let me take care of you," her fingers moved slightly to the left before finding the exact spot. To contain her moans, Marlo covered her mouth with her own, sucking on her tongue and eliciting a deep groan from her, as she rode the rest of her orgasm out._

* * *

"You're flushed." Andy states all matter-of-factly when Traci is brought back to the present.

"Hmm..," Traci snaps out of her reverie by her friend's statement.

"What's going on with you?" she asks puzzled by her attitude. She has been acting weird ever since she disappeared on her and Gail last night. They had searched _The Penny_ for her until Andy had received a text:

* * *

_**Sorry, had to go. Leo's sick.**_

_**T. **_

* * *

"It has just been a long night, y'know, with Leo and all," Traci fibs hoping that her nose won't grow several inches on her.

If there's one conversation she has never wanted to have with Andy, then it's the one where she tells her how another woman fingered her and everything else that happened in-between.

"He's okay though, isn't he? Maybe I should stop by..?" Andy suggests concerned, which makes Traci feel like the biggest fraud.

"Oh, he's fine now!" Traci hurries to say, but amends her harsh attitude with an, "but he'd love a visit one of these days."

"That makes two of us," Andy smiles at her friend when there's a knock at the door. "That must be Gail!" she exclaims all but bouncing off of the couch already en route to the front door leaving Traci to deal with the rest of her memories of the night before.

* * *

_Once it was over, and the earth had resumed to its normal pace Traci found herself being necked by the latest addition to the TO's at 15 Division._

"_I've been thinking about fucking you ever since we met, Nash," Marlo murmured into the side of her face._

"_Listen..," Traci started to say, but was stopped when Marlo placed one of the very fingers that had just been busy pleasing her thoroughly on her bottom lip._

"_Shh..," she shushed her. "Don't think, just feel. Taste yourself," Marlo encouraged Traci, who took the incentive for the first time __**that **__night. She wrapped her hands around Cruz' before opening her mouth up and letting her push her finger inside. Traci sucked in her cheeks before twirling her tongue around the pad and beginning to suck. _

"_Mmm..," Traci hummed with her mouth full, while Marlo's other hand snuck up underneath her halter top covering one lacey cup of the bra Traci was wearing. _

"_That's right, suck me hard..," Marlo edged Traci on. She bypassed the bra and found her erect nipple with her thumb and index finger. She stimulated it with tiny little nips in tune with the sucking motions Traci was applying her finger with._

_With an audible pop, she released Marlo's finger, leaning her head against the wall behind her with a loud gasp. The rollercoaster her body had been on had been nothing short of invigorating. _

"_You did well," Marlo praised her, stuffing Traci's breast back into the lacey cup of her bra. "Very good," she stated as if she'd just commended her on bringing a case to a close._

_Traci watched on mesmerized as the woman before her licked her way into her mouth again. She gasped upon realizing what a terrific kisser Marlo was. Like weak-in-the-knees-terrific, not that she'd ever been kissed by a woman before but holy crap._

"_I need to..," Traci talked against Marlo's busy mouth making her pull back giving Nash the once-over. _

"_I know..," Marlo told her brushing Traci's long tresses off of her shoulders, letting it cascade down her back. "Next time we'll see about __**you**__ pleasing __**me**__, from __**start**__ to __**finish**__," she winked at her protégée._

"_**Next**__ time?" Traci questioned shocked. _

_There would be __**no**__ next time. This had been a one-time kind of a thing. No way would __**this**__ be happening __**again**__. She had needed to let off steam, and Marlo had helped her do that, but Traci wasn't into it. She wasn't into girls, women, whatever._

"_Stop doing __**that**__," Marlo said but added when the look on Traci's face told her that she didn't know what '__**that'**__ was. "Letting your head rule what's right and what's not. You were wet for me, Nash. You were aroused, you came for me." She reminded her._

"_It doesn't mean anything," Traci persisted rushing past Marlo – leaving the stall, the bathroom and her very first sexual encounter with a woman behind her._

* * *

Traci can't for the life of her involve herself in the girl talk that's taking place around Andy's coffee table between her two friends. She tries to make herself listen to the conversation, and just when she thinks she's put last night behind her, Marlo appears next to her as some sort of mirage.

"_Don't think, just feel." _She whispered nibbling at the lobe of her ear before cupping her sex and…

_Nothing._

"Trace?" that's Andy's concerned voice snapping her out of her reverie.

"Huh? Sorry?" she apologizes guessing that she's just asked her a question that Traci hasn't responded to.

"Where did _you_ just disappear off to Nash?" Gail asks wiggling both eyebrows up high. Seeing the look of discomfort on her friends face, she adds a "You were kind of moaning," for good measure.

"Oh, shut up!" Traci snaps at her blonde friend surprising both her and Andy by her sudden outburst.

"So-rry," Gail sing-songs staccato-wise holding up both hands in mock-surrender before popping a potato chip into her mouth.

"More wine?" Andy asks holding up a bottle of wine hoping the alcohol can work as some kind of truce.

Holding up her wine glass, Traci accepts the offer.

More wine, _definitely._


	2. Pleasure

**A/N: **I want to thank all my followers / reviewers, who have ventured out into this story with me :) I know it's very different from anything I've written thus far, but I think that's part of the ride.

Just to clarify one point though in a review I got then Traci didn't just jump out into this in the bathroom stall at _The Penny _with Marlo. They had been attracted to each other for quite some time.

But again I LOVE to receive reviews - as long as they're respectful, and please if you're not into femslash stories, then turn away.

Once again huge thanks go out to rookieD for your continued help and support on this story :)

Now onto the story ...

* * *

[chapter two]

* * *

**Pleas-ure (n). Enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one's liking; gratification; delight. (Synonyms: happiness, gladness, delectation).**

* * *

_She is standing by her locker, shirtless – clad in her bra - when a strange sensation runs through her tense body. _

_She is alone in the locker room, but then suddenly a pair of warm hands wraps themselves around her waist, as she sighs deeply in the back of her throat. _

_Looking down, she recognizes the hands that are pressed against her skin. Tilting her head up, Traci closes her eyes when Marlo's fingers intertwine with hers right above her bellybutton._

_The warm sensation of her tongue comes into contact with Traci's upper back, and she gets lost in the feeling of Cruz branding her with her tongue. If she doesn't know any better, Traci would think that Marlo's drawing nothing but __**M's **__across her chocolaty skin. _

_Gathering some of her senses, Traci realizes that they're standing in the middle of the locker room where __**anyone**__ can walk in on them at __**any**__ time._

"_I can't..," she moans squeezing her eyes tight attempting to obtain some sort of distance from the woman behind her and everything that she's making her feel._

"_Shh..," Marlo shushes her when suddenly one hand moves south to cup Traci's sex, while the other moves north to massage her breasts – one at a time. _

"_Oh my God..," Traci gasps lost in the feelings that the woman standing behind her is applying to her electrifying body. Not only is she stimulating her clit, but she is also caressing her full and tender breasts that have been yearning for her touch._

"_That's right," she coaxes her. Marlo unzips the black slacks that are hanging from Traci's slim hips before dipping her fingers __**inside**__. _

"_Fuck..," she groans worrying her bottom lip with her teeth when Marlo bypasses her panties and inserts two fingers __**into**__ the very essence of her._

"_You're so wet for me," Cruz showers her back with moist kisses before speaking again. "I like that," she continues grinding her pelvis into Traci's butt. "I like __**that **__a lot," Marlo speaks in-between thrusts and kisses just as Traci's hips begin to imitate her moves._

_Reaching up, she grabs the top of her locker for something to hold onto, and moves up and down onto Marlo's skilled fingers - fucking herself._

"_Mmm..," she lets go of her now teeth indented lip, removes one of her hands from the top of the locker, and letting it join Marlo's skilled hand inside her panties. "Fuck…I'm almost there, __**almost**__," at her words, Marlo twists both of their fingers a little to the left and they hit the nail on its proverbial head. "Yes, yes, __**yes!**__" Traci squeals in delight riding out the rest of her orgasm with them both wringing the last of it out of her quivering body._

_After the storm has settled, and their heartbeats and breathing patterns have somewhat normalized, Traci feels Marlo's hands wrapping themselves around her hips. Before she knows it, her back is pressed up against the locker and she's staring into the darkness of Cruz'eyes._

"_Come here..," she frames Traci's face with her warm hands before their lips meet in a soft kiss that makes Traci weak in the knees. Inching her hands in-between the locker and Traci, Marlo begins to massage her cheeks eliciting several grunts of pleasure from the woman in front of her._

"_I want..," Traci sighs when their foreheads are pressed together a couple of minutes later._

"_I know..," she tells her confidently moving her hands to Traci's hips when they both look to the open fly in her black slacks._

_Marlo sinks down to her knees never losing eye contact with Traci. When she receives the okay signal in the disguise of a nod of confirmation, she pops the button of her slacks._

_Holding onto the waistband of the slacks, she slides the garment down Traci's beautifully toned legs before letting them pool at her feet. Looking up at the woman standing before her, Marlo can't keep herself from praising her. "You look __**so**__ beautiful, Nash," she presses her lips against Traci's knee and slides them up. _

"_Don't stop, __**please**__," Traci begs when she feels her tongue running over her skin. Grasping her hips with both hands, Marlo presses her nose into the V at the apex of Traci's thighs. _

"_**So**__ beautiful," she murmurs inhaling sharply._

"_Ah..," the air whistles out in-between Traci's thinned-out lips, as her head thuds back against the cool surface of the locker behind her._

"_You smell so __**good**__," she whimpers tonguing Traci through her panties._

"_Hey," Traci breathes tilting Marlo's head up with her fingers. "Fuck me," a careful smile hovers on Traci's lips, as Marlo's eyes turn dark. "Fuck me with your tongue," she tells the woman kneeling at her feet._

_She receives a wicked grin at the end of __**that **__particular sentence when Marlo inserts her fingers into the thin waistband of Traci's panties before sliding them __**down**__._

* * *

And that's the exact moment, Ladies and Gentlemen, that there's a knock on Traci's bedroom door pulling her out of her _very_ wet and _very_ vivid dream.

"Sweetheart?" her mother raps on the bedroom door. "You need to get up."

Sitting up straight in bed, Traci combs her fingers through her drenched locks of hair, attempting to gather herself before speaking.

"Oh-okay..," she stammers truly bewildered by her dream.

Maybe it's because she hasn't seen Marlo for a couple of days now. Cruz has been on nights, while Traci as a Detective primarily works days.

But not _today_.

From the roster, Traci knows that Marlo is working the day shift for the entire week, so avoiding her will presumably prove to be a hardship to say the least.

They have seen each other in passing for the past couple of days, but nothing more than a quick nod of their heads have been shared between them.

Maybe Traci's _'it's only a one-time thing'_ had hit its mark the other night? Maybe Marlo isn't even interested in her; she might just have been looking for a convenient fuck that night?

Or maybe not?

Sitting up on the edge of the bed, Traci can't imagine _this_ being _'a one-time thing'_ for Marlo or as she has just put it herself '_a convenient fuck'_. Something has changed between them, and she knows that it's not just something that _she's_ feeling, Marlo feels it too, she knows that she does.

But does that make it okay?

Padding into the bathroom, she decides to let all that be, while stripping down and stepping into the shower, hoping to squander the need that's been building up inside of her for the past couple of days.

But after a couple of minutes, she realizes that it's a moot point.

* * *

Standing under the steady stream of water, Traci combs her fingers through her wet tresses after having rinsed the shampoo out of it.

It's now day three after her _time_ with Marlo in the stall at the women's restroom at _The Penny_. To say that Traci hasn't been dealing with it well, would be putting it mildly.

She can't go down _that_ road, she has Leo, she has her Detectives' job and she has all of her friends. Traci _cannot_ start anything up with Marlo; it's out of the question.

But she can't stop thinking about her either.

Thoughts of Marlo surround her no matter what she does; at crime scenes, while doing paperwork, when interrogating suspects and even when she sleeps.

'_God_, how did _this_ happen?' she thinks to herself. Traci closes her eyes, as she lathers herself up with body wash.

The pressure that's moving through her body won't diminish, so as the soap suds disappear down the drain, Traci does the only thing that she _can_ do.

She _has_ to diminish the ache.

Keeping the water running, she slides her hand _down_. Moving a finger through the curls, she slips it _inside_ to where she's the wettest.

The constant run of water is doing nothing to squelch the unbearable need that she's experiencing on the inside though. But as she angles the finger slightly to the right, Traci realizes that she has found _the_ spot, the exact same spot, Marlo had found three days earlier.

She quivers when she with closed eyes imagines Cruz standing right behind her, and instead of Traci's own finger, it's Marlo's pleasing her, drawing it out, making her come.

"Oh my God!" she gasps when she quickly slaps her free hand against the tiles of the shower needing something tangible to hold onto, as her senses are assaulted by her orgasm. "Fuck..," Traci moans rubbing her clit as she rides the rest of it out.

Afterwards, she grabs the body wash and lathers _everything_ up again, needing to wash away the proof of her arousal. Turning off the tap, Traci slides the shower door open before grabbing a nearby towel off of the rack.

All toweled off, she stares at her reflection in the mirror above the vanity. Standing clad in a towel, knotted at her sternum, Traci looks away, unable to look her own reflection in the eyes.

Shaking her head, she feels the tears close by before telling herself, "You're a mess."

* * *

An hour later, Marlo is walking down the hallways of 15 Division when suddenly she's pulled into an empty viewing room.

"Hey!" she squeaks when Sam closes the door behind him, and turns his dark eyes on her, folding his arms across his chest.

The minute she looks into his eyes, she recognizes his Swarek stare. The one he aims at her whenever he thinks that she's done something incredibly stupid.

"What were you thinking?!" he growls at her.

"What are you _on_ about?" Marlo asks confused, but really not.

"Nash." Sam states matter-of-factly. He has known Marlo long enough to recognize the tell-tale signs of her pursuing someone. And with Traci having been so out of sorts lately and adding in the stolen glances he has caught both of them giving each other; he knows that something has happened between them.

"What about her?" she shrugs her shoulder dispassionately.

"Don't give me _that_!" Sam snaps at her. "I'm not questioning _your_ life choices here, Marlo. But I _am_ asking you to consider what you will be putting Traci through. She has a son and is still trying to get past Jerry for Christ sakes!" he exclaims flailing his arms around between them.

"And _you_ think that I'm what..?" Marlo asks arching an eyebrow at his accusatory tone of voice. "Taking advantage of her? That I'm gonna hurt her or out her or what?!" her voice rises in volume as she talks.

"I don't know," he admits rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "But what I _do_ know is that she deserves to be happy, and if all you're gonna do is confuse her and hurt her, then I'm asking you, as your friend, to _not_ do it." Sam asks of her.

She knows that what he is saying is coming from a good place, and he is partly right. She _does_ want to try things out with Traci, but he is dead wrong about her hurting her or outing her to everyone, that is the very last thing that she wants to do.

"I appreciate the concern, Sam, but Traci and I are both adults and we'll figure it out." Marlo tells him.

"It's not concern," he tells her firmly. "It's a promise. A promise _I_ made to _Jerry_," Sam clarifies.

"Oh..," she breathes running her teeth through her bottom lip.

"Yeah..," he nods his head slowly. "I promised _him_ that I'd take care of Traci and Leo, and that I'd protect them from any harm."

"And _I'm_ harm..?" Marlo asks incredulously pointing a finger at herself.

"I didn't say that..," Sam denies but is cut off by Marlo immediately.

"I'm not some monster, Sam! I'm bi-sexual!" she snaps at him angrily. "I am who I am. Just like Traci is who she is, and you are who you are. I'm not gonna apologize for _that_."

"Marlo, that's not..," he tries to interject, but is once more interrupted by her – this time she is holding up an index finger in the air to silence him.

"I know what you're saying is coming from a good place, Sam," Marlo admits inching closer to her friend. "But I like her, I really do," she can't contain the small smile on her lips when speaking about Traci. "I've never felt like _this_ for anyone, _ever_. And I know there's a lot going on in her life, there is in mine too, but all I'm asking for here is just a little leeway, that's all."

Sam nods his head at her words deciding that giving Marlo the benefit of the doubt is what he should do. He'd just wish he had a better feeling in the pit of his stomach at the prospect of his friend and Nash together.

"Alright, I'll give you that leeway," he says watching the careful smile on her lips grow. "But I'm protective of them, I always will be."

"Understood."

* * *

"When is it?" Sam asks at the end of shift shrugging into his leather jacket.

"Next Saturday," Traci says. "It would mean the world to him if you'd come. Both of you of course." She adds having just invited Sam and by extension Andy to Leo's upcoming birthday party.

"Touché!" he winks at her and her feeble attempt at setting up a place for him and Andy to get to know each other again. Things have been going well for them lately, but there's still a lot of stuff they need to work through. "I'll ask her tonight."

"Tonight?" she asks excitedly. "Am I to assume you two crazy kids have plans?" Traci adds clapping her hands together.

"Maybe," Sam says vaguely, as his eyes catches sight of someone standing behind Traci in the doorway of their office.

"What?" Traci asks noticing the way his facial expression has just changed.

"Sorry," a familiar voice utters from the doorway. "Didn't mean to interrupt anything," Marlo adds, as Traci turns around to watch her lean against the doorframe.

"You're not," he maintains, while Traci just stays quiet unable to tear her eyes away from her frame. "Something has come up though," Sam says indicating the fact that he has promised Marlo a ride home, but is opting to take Andy out instead.

"Oh," she responds surprised. "No worries, I'll just..," Marlo says hitching a thumb in the opposite direction.

"You wouldn't mind giving Marlo a ride home, would you Traci?" Sam asks feeling like he simultaneously needs to procure a ride for his friend, while also helping whatever's happening between the two of them move along.

Traci feels like she can't breathe. She has spent the entire day trying to maintain some sort of a distance from Cruz, and now Sam is asking her to give her a ride home?

Crap!

Marlo notices the shocked look on her face, and recognizes the look as one of pure panic. She wants to give Traci all the time that she needs, but she also wants to get to know her.

She refuses to believe that the two are mutually exclusive.

Taking a deep breath, Traci realizes that she can't leave Marlo stranded at the Division and pipes up a "Sure," before smiling weakly at the woman before her.

"Okie-doke," Sam says as he catches sight of Andy heading towards the women's locker room, and deciding to surprise her with a home-cooked meal. "See you guys later," he bids them farewell before leaving them alone in the Detectives' office.

"If you have plans, I can just..," Marlo offers not wanting to crowd Traci or to assume anything.

"No, no, it's…it's okay," she tries to assure her before getting into her jacket and grabbing her purse from her desk. "Let's go."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the silence inside the comforts of _Stella_ is making Traci grasp the steering wheel in a death grip.

What the hell had she been thinking?

Five minutes have passed since she killed the engine of the car, but Marlo hasn't moved. Hasn't uttered a word, really.

"What do you want?" Cruz suddenly asks.

_That_ simple question makes a cold shiver run down Traci's back. She doesn't have an answer ready for Marlo.

All she does know is that she likes the way that she feels when she's around her, but that she hates the way that she feels when they're apart. Not even putting the ramifications it might have for Leo or her job into question if anyone ever finds out about _them_.

"I…I..," Traci stammers, her knuckles having turned completely white from her strong grip on the steering wheel.

Shifting in her seat, Marlo notices the tenseness in the set of Traci's shoulders. She hates that she's the cause of it, almost as much as she hates the secrecy of it all.

"Hey..," she whispers softly reaching a hand out to tuck a strand of hair behind Traci's ear. "It's okay, Trace. It's gonna be okay." Marlo promises.

Traci closes her eyes at _that_. It's ironic how much she wishes those words to be true. To be able to just let her head be damned, and throw her responsibilities to the wind.

But she can't.

"How do _you_ know _that_?" Traci asks turning her head sideways to look at Marlo. "When _I _don't even know _that_?" she adds desperately looking for an answer to her burning questions.

Marlo shrugs her shoulders small before saying, "I don't know, Trace," and letting her fingers pluck at Traci's denim clad knee. "But what I _do_ know is that I like you, and that I like the way I feel when I'm around you." She says.

Traci swears that her heart just stopped beating at _that_. Those words sum up exactly how _she_ feels, but is too petrified to utter out loud.

"It isn't _that_ simple," she maintains thinking about Leo. "Not for _me_ at least," Traci adds.

Marlo exhales deeply before wrapping her hand around Traci's knee. "Do you think it's simple for _me_? That _I_ don't have the same doubts or feelings running through _my_ mind as _you_ do?" she asks Traci truthfully.

"I..," Traci starts, but is cut off when Marlo's hand begins to move _up_.

"Shh..," Marlo hushes when she is about to object. She presses a finger against Traci's lips, while the other hand is making its way up her inner thigh.

"What _are_ we doing?" Traci sighs when Marlo cups her cheek with her hand, pressing their foreheads together.

"What we need..," she answers moving her wandering hand to Traci's opposite hip, pressing her body closer to her own. "Each other." She adds.

Nudging at her nose, she nips at Traci's upper lip before licking her way into her mouth.

"Mmm..," Traci moans moving her hands to frame Marlo's face and pulling her impossibly closer despite the close quarters they're in.

Marlo's hand moves underneath the short leather jacket and shirt that Traci is wearing to caress the smooth skin at the small of her back.

"You feel _so_ nice..," she murmurs against Traci's lips. "_So_ soft," she adds kissing her way to Traci's throat.

"Oh my God..," she gasps when Marlo's tongue makes contact with her skin.

"That's right baby..," she soothes her as the hand that has been wrapped around Traci's hip suddenly finds its way to the zipper of her jeans.

Suddenly it hits Traci hard _where _they are. Namely on the side of the road from Marlo's apartment building is where they're at. The streets are deserted, but the same can't be said for Traci's mind.

Her thoughts are all jumbled together – especially now that Marlo is cupping her sex, and is stroking her through the denim.

"Fuck..," Traci gasps, but letting her mind rule over her heart, she grasps Marlo's hand in hers before pulling it to more safe territory on her thigh.

"It's okay..," Marlo comforts her feeling Traci slipping out of her proverbial grip. Holding her head in her hands, she licks her way into her mouth, stroking at her tongue.

"Come upstairs with me," she asks pressing her forehead against Traci's. She wants to strip her down, put her on her bed, and explore every last inch of her.

"I can't..," she says right up against Marlo's face. "I need to go," she declares pulling out of their very tight embrace.

"Trace..," she says looking at the now rigid set of shoulders on Traci, whose eyes are staring straight ahead of them in the direction of the darkened street in front of them.

The awkward silence inside _Stella_ is back.

_Stella_.

_God!_ They did what they did _in_ Jerry's _Stella_.

Unable to look either herself or Marlo in the eyes, Traci fiddles with her fingers in her lap instead before repeating her earlier words. "I have to go."

"That's it?!" Marlo snaps looking at her, as if she's grown an additional head. She knows that Traci is scared and confused, okay? But _this_ is just plain stupid.

"What do you _want_?" Traci exhales deeply closing her eyes resigned.

"I want you to be honest with me, to see _this_ as what it really _is_, and not as what you're trying to tell yourself that it is."

"I'm not trying to..," Traci attempts to argue, but is cut off when Marlo wrenches the passenger door of _Stella_ open.

"I don't want to play games here, Traci," she says before getting out of the car. "But I refuse to be used as some sort of tool when you need to let off steam," Marlo warns her before slamming the door shut, and walking to the entrance of her apartment building.

* * *

Traci doesn't know how long she sits there, but it's awhile. How is it even possible for _this_ woman to read her as well as Marlo does? Especially given the short amount of time that they've known each other?

But she _is_ right.

Traci _is_ scared, petrified really. Of starting something up again, something that could possibly end her if it broke into a million pieces.

There's of course also the backlash from her family, friends and colleagues to consider. But what really scares her is the prospect of loving someone as completely as she loved Jerry, and then to risk having them ripped out of her life.

Without any warning.

She and Leo have just come out of that legendary black hole, and now _here_ is Marlo, wanting Traci to take _that_ leap with her.

It isn't _that_ easy.

But despite all of _that_ then there's an emptiness that has settled itself in her heart ever since Marlo got out of the car, and walked away.

Is she really prepared to feel like _this_ for the rest of her life?

* * *

**A/N2:** And yes! "Wounds" and "Home" will be continued, but I just needed to get a couple of chapters of this story out first. Stay tuned ;)


	3. Mercy

**A/N: **Here'sthe next installment of "Something Different" ... thank you for your continued support, and please keep on leaving feedback, it's what keeps this writer going :)

**Disclaimer:** Don't own _**"Rookie Blue"**_ and **_"Mercy"_** is property of Duffy.

* * *

[chapter three]

* * *

**Mercy (n). Compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward a person. (Synonyms: benevolence, charity, commiseration, kindliness).**

* * *

The silent treatment that Marlo has been giving her for the past forty-five hours is so _not_ working for Traci.

She _hates_ the fact that Cruz won't even talk to her – little own look at her – unless it's domain to a case that they're both working on.

It surprises Traci that she misses those innocent touches or close brushes of their bodies – but she does. She misses _her_. She misses _Marlo_.

Which is also why standing by her locker with her back turned to her by the end of shift is almost doing her in.

"You, uh..," Traci begins hating the way her voice quivers. "You had a good shift?" she finally manages to say.

"It was fine." Marlo states matter-of-factly.

Traci bites into the corner of her lip contemplating what to say next. It isn't exactly because Cruz is giving her a lot of choices here.

"That's good," she offers up feeling utterly lost just as Gail and Andy wander into the locker room talking loudly about the karaoke night that's to happen at _The Penny_ in an hour or two.

"Hey, Nash?" Gail comes to an abrupt halt at her locker. "You gonna grace us with your presence tonight? Or do you have _plans_?" she drawls out the last word with such disdain that makes Traci realize that she has been neglecting her friends lately, but she has been preoccupied, okay?

"I'll be there," Traci says.

"How about you Cruz?" Gail asks turning her attention to Marlo.

"We might check it out," she says shutting her locker.

"_We?_" the blonde asks arching a quizzical eyebrow. "_You_ have a date?" Gail adds. The knowledge that Marlo is bisexual isn't exactly a well-kept secret at 15, but it isn't a secret either.

The hand that Traci has just used to comb her tangles out with is suspended in mid-air as she watches Cruz' every facial expression in the mirror attached to the inside of her locker.

Two pair of brown pools stare at each other through the mirror, while Nash tries to remember how to breathe properly. She feels like she has an unwelcome weight on her heart anticipating Marlo's answer to Gail's question.

"Don't sound so shocked, Peck," she winks at her tearing her eyes away from Traci's. "I can't be expected to wait around forever," Marlo adds making Traci blush furiously. If that isn't an anvil being dropped, she doesn't know what is.

"Oh-kay..," Gail drawls out the word, while all three women watch Cruz exit the locker room.

"What was _that_ about?" Andy asks no one in particular.

"Have no idea," Traci pipes up. "No idea at all."

* * *

The minute she steps foot inside _The Penny_, she finds herself subconsciously searching the masses for _her_. Traci doesn't find what she's looking for though, so she looks around for her friends instead – finding Andy and Gail sitting by their usual table.

"Hey there, _Stranger_," Gail pipes up sarcastically when she reaches their table.

"Wauw, you look great, Trace," Andy compliments her appearance. She is wearing a grey linen side pleat skirt and a white ruffle blouse with a deep V neck showing off her cleavage. Her feet are in a pair of brown suede boots.

"Thanks, you too." She smiles at Andy. "You want me to get you something from the bar?" Traci asks nodding her head in the direction of where Liam is serving up drinks.

"Nope, we're good." Gail states holding up a glass of beer filled to the rim.

"Be right back," she tells her friends, as she weaves her way through the myriad of people gathered at the bar until she finds a vacant spot from where she'll be able to flag down Liam.

She feels a warmth spread through her body like a wildfire, and Traci instantly knows that Marlo's nearby. Her eyes are fixed on the top of the bar when she feels someone settle in next to her, and without looking, she knows that it's _her_.

_Marlo._

"Hey," she's greeted by the rawness in her tone of voice. Their arms touch, standing at the bar next to each other, and Traci can't stop her longing body from reacting to the proximity of Marlo's.

But the fact that less than forty-eight hours after Marlo tore out of _Stella_, she's _here_ at _The Penny_ on a _date _with another woman makes Traci unable to see straight.

"Where's your _date_?" she throws at Cruz folding her arms in front of her chest in a defensive stance.

"Celery? She's around here somewhere," Marlo looks around trying to catch sight of her date, but to no avail.

"Her name is _Celery_?" Traci asks pointedly unable to hide a small smile from appearing on her lips.

"Last time I checked," she quips when they look at each other briefly – the pair of them feeling the familiar pull towards the other. "You said no," Marlo says a minute later averting her eyes away from Traci's.

"No, I didn't," she denies. "I said that I had to go, but you immediately took that to mean that I didn't want you in my life."

"Do you?" Marlo asks the exterior side of her pinky brushing against Traci's. "Want me in your life?" the hope that is apparent in Cruz' otherwise solid voice makes her question whether she hasn't pegged her all wrong.

Marlo is just as scared as Traci is.

"I don't know..," Traci whispers looking around to make sure that no one is taking note of their close proximity. But taken how many people are crowding the bar, that proves to be a futile thought.

"I can't keep going in circles like this with you," her raw voice replies. "I like you, Trace, I really do. But a one-sided relationship isn't what I'm looking for."

"I just..," she starts. "I just need some time, okay?" Traci pleads with her in a soft voice. She doesn't want to belittle her, not at all. But there's so much to think of, so many things on the line, and not just the status of her sexual orientation.

"I don't have any more time to give you," Marlo tells her quietly making Traci look away. "I need some reason to keep trying, _something_."

"What's your poison ladies?" the ever enthused Liam suddenly asks standing on the opposite side of the bar.

Realizing their fingers are still touching, Traci pulls her hand back, folding her arms in front of her chest again before giving Liam an order for a glass of Chardonnay.

"That sounds good, make that two." Marlo says, her eyes remaining on Traci's dark features – still reeling from the abrupt way she has just pulled their hands apart.

"No, three," an energetic voice adds from right behind Marlo.

Traci notices that the woman before her rolls her eyes, as the somewhat younger woman standing right behind Cruz curls her arms around her shoulders from behind.

"Coming right up!" Liam calls.

"I'm Celery btw," the brunette uncurls one slim arm from around Marlo's shoulders and holds it out for a shake. "That means _'by the way'_," Celery says each word by staccato. "I'm Marlo's date," she pecks Marlo quickly on the cheek.

The look in Marlo's eyes tells Traci that she's anything but happy about this intrusion. She looks oddly uncomfortable, which is ironic considering Celery is her date tonight.

"Traci, Traci Nash. I work with Marlo," she finally pipes up shaking hands with the energizer rabbit.

"And I'm _doing_ Marlo," Celery giggles just as Liam hands them their orders.

Traci clears her throat, as she removes her glass from the bar top. The look on Marlo's face is almost pleading her to stay, but she can't.

"I should get back to my friends," she hitches a thumb in Andy and Gail's direction before walking away from them.

"It was nice to meet you," Celery's voice echoes out as Traci walks away.

* * *

"Who's _that_?" Andy asks when Traci re-joins them at their table, where Sam and Nick have taken a seat next to respectively her and Gail.

"McNally," Sam grumbles, his arm curled around Andy's back clearly not wanting them to spend any more time talking about Marlo.

"What?" she asks shrugging her shoulders innocently. "I'm just asking a question, Sam," McNally smiles sweetly at him before aiming her attention back at Traci again.

"Isn't this supposed to be a fun-filled karaoke night?" Gail asks looking through the list of songs that are available for her and her friends to belt out.

"The Peckster's got a point," Sam points his glass of bourbon in her direction biting into his cheek to suppress a grin.

"_The Peckster_, partner?" Traci asks arching an eyebrow at him, as she takes a seat next to him and Andy.

"Yup!" Sam exclaims popping the 'p' with his tongue. His warm smile disappears though when he notices where Nash's attention is directed at.

* * *

Marlo and Celery have taken up residence at a table a few meters back. But it isn't so much the fact that they're _here_. It's more the way that she touches Marlo constantly, how she whispers into her ear, and how she bumps her nose against her cheek.

Traci feels her blood boil, but is distracted by the sound of Gail's peppy voice. "Ooh!" the woman of the hour suddenly exclaims. "I have found _the_ song for you, Trace," Gail's excitement is written _all_ over her delicate features.

"Me? Why _just_ me?" she asks taking a big gulp of her Chardonnay.

"Because you do it _ohhhh_," Andy's voice hitches just as Sam's mouth touches upon a tender spot on her throat. "…so well..," Andy finishes.

"Yeah, right..," Traci scoffs when Peck slides the list of songs across the table to her, and signals with a pale finger, which song she is to sing – according to Gail that is. "Are you serious?" she gapes at her friend.

"Like a heart attack!" the blonde grins gulping down some beer.

* * *

"Welcome to karaoke night everybody!" Oliver's voice rings out to the crowd, as he's taken up residence on the small stage in the middle of _The Penny_. "All you would-be singers needn't worry, because this..," he says indicating himself with a flailing hand. "…great specimen of a man will not be shouting out tunes…just yet." He smiles to the crowd before casting a look at the piece of paper in his hand with the names of the participants on.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Traci hisses at Andy.

"You'll do great," she tries to tell her.

"Detective Traci Nash!" Oliver bellows from the stage, as the first tunes of the song Gail has chosen for her to sing starts to belt out of the speakers.

"Strut your stuff girl!" Peck whistles as Traci takes reluctant steps onto the stage to join Oliver.

"Knock 'em dead, Tiger," he winks at her before passing her the microphone, and exiting the platform stage.

The lights dim in the bar, and only a spotlight is now lighting up the stage. Standing with her back to the audience, she snaps her fingers in tune with the beats of the music, angling her head to look behind her shoulder and out into the darkened bar.

* * *

**_Yeah, yeah, yeah_**

**_Yeah, yeah, yeah_**

**_Yeah, yeah, yeah_**

**_Yeah, yeah, yeah_**

* * *

Turning on her heel to face the audience, Traci doesn't need to look at Marlo to know that she's watching her. She can feel it.

The whistling and hollering from her friends and colleagues egging her on proves to be all the incentive she needs to let the music lead her.

Closing her eyes because she doesn't need to watch the monitor for the lyrics, Traci Nash lets the song speak for her.

* * *

_**I love you but I gotta stay true**_

_**My morals got me on my knees **_

_**I'm begging please **_

_**Stop playing games**_

* * *

"She's good," Celery nods towards Traci, whom her date can't take her eyes off of. "But maybe _I_ don't need to tell _you_ that?" she asks.

"Wha…what..?" Marlo stammers pulling her gaze away from the act up on the stage. The look she meets in Celery's eyes however tells her that they're minutes away from having an argument.

They used to date, her and Celery. With emphasis on _used to_. Marlo has in her past always been prone to date these superficial women that rarely meant anything to her. Which is another reason why she wants to explore what she and Traci could have.

Because she has never known anyone romantically like Traci before.

* * *

_**I don't know what this is but you got me good **_

_**Just like you knew you would **_

_**I don't know what you do but you do it well **_

_**I'm under your spell**_

* * *

Swaying her hips in tune with the beats of the music, Traci gets the entire bar to sing along with the lyrics. As people start crowding the floor in front of the stage, images of her and Marlo in the women's restroom begin to invade her mind.

_Her_ smell.

_Her_ touch.

_Her_.

* * *

_**Why won't you release me? **_

_**You got me begging you for mercy **_

_**Why won't you release me? **_

_**I said release me**_

* * *

Feeling herself letting go, and just having fun is cathartic for Traci as she runs the fingers of her free hand through her dark tresses.

Her eyes meet Marlo's from across the room, and all the doubts and fears that she has been feeling ever since they started whatever _this_ is seems to evaporate when looking into her brown pools.

* * *

_**Now you think that I**___

_**Will be something on the side **_

_**But you got to understand that I need a man **_

_**Who can take my hand, yes I do**_

* * *

Taking a sip of her wine, Marlo can't keep her eyes from taking in every inch of Traci's gorgeous figure. From her silky smooth hair, to her soft skin, her tight breasts, her toned thighs and legs – not even mentioning the immaculate way that she dresses.

Marlo recognizes the signs.

She's fallen for Traci Nash.

* * *

_**I don't know what this is but you got me good **_

_**J**__**ust like you knew you would **_

_**I don't know what you do but you do it well **_

_**I'm under your spell**_

* * *

"_What_ has gotten into _her_?" Andy grins widely baffled by her friend's unusually relaxed nature up on the stage.

True, Traci has always been outgoing and all, but ever since Jerry died she has become more introvert and very unlike the Traci she met at the academy. But now some of the old Traci is shining through, and Andy wonders why that is.

Sam looks behind him, and notices the way Marlo's date is trying to get her to pay attention to _her_, and _not_ Traci. He silently wonders how any of this will ever have a good outcome when Gail joins in on the conversation.

"Or _who_?" she winks at Andy making a shiver run down Sam's back. This is exactly what he doesn't want happening, the entire Division knowing about Nash' personal life before she's ready for them to.

* * *

_**You got me begging you for mercy **_

_**Why won't you release me? **_

_**You got me begging you for mercy **_

_**Why won't you release me? **_

_**I said you better release me**_

* * *

"You're into her aren't you?" the accusatory tone snaps Marlo out of her assessment of Traci's attributes.

"What..?" she breathes. "Don't be ridiculous, we're just colleagues."

"Right..," Celery scoffs turning her eyes back to Traci's figure up on the stage moving her hips from side to side in tune with the music. "You haven't been able to tear your eyes off of her."

"Will you lighten up?" Marlo snaps alerting the next table to the fact that they're anything but enjoying the show.

Well, one of them isn't.

* * *

_**I'm begging you for mercy **_

_**Just why won't you release me? **_

_**I'm begging you for mercy **_

_**You got me begging, you got me begging **_

_**You got me begging**_

* * *

Tucking her hair behind her ears, Traci gets ready for the big finish, as Dov and Chris join Gail, Nick, Andy and Sam at the table.

* * *

_**Mercy, why won't you release me? **_

_**I'm begging you for mercy **_

_**Why won't you release me? **_

_**You got me begging you for mercy**_

* * *

"Why did you even invite me?" Celery's suddenly weakened voice cuts through the music.

Marlo sighs deeply. "I wanted to go out, and you were..," her sentence gets cut off by Celery immediately.

"…available..?" she asks with more strength behind her voice. "I refuse to sit here, and be used, while all you can think about is _her_," Celery adds with so much disdain in her voice that Marlo knows that's exactly what she has done.

Ironically enough that is exactly what she had asked Traci not to do to her the other night.

* * *

_**I'm begging you for mercy **_

_**I'm begging you for mercy **_

_**I'm begging you for mercy **_

_**I'm begging you for mercy **_

_**Why won't you release me?**_

* * *

"Go Trace!" Dov whistles as the song is nearing its end. "She's on fire, man!" he calls to Chris over the loud music.

* * *

_**You got me begging you for mercy **_

_**You got me begging down on my knees **_

_**I said you got me begging, begging you for mercy **_

_**You got me begging**_

* * *

As the music winds down, the entire room erupts into cheers and applauds for the excellent performance they've just experienced.

Sliding her tongue over her very dry lips, Traci bows in a very lady-like fashion before giving thanks out to everyone assembled in the bar.

Two figures seem oblivious to what's happening up in front, as Marlo finds herself looking into Celery's stormy eyes – ready to erupt.

* * *

"Very impressive, Trace," Diaz commends her a little later.

"Thanks!" she exclaims happily.

"It's a vegetable of some sort," Gail suddenly says out of the blue. She has been quietly contemplating what Marlo's suddenly reluctant date's name is.

"Uhm…we may be a little late to the party," Dov begins. "But _what_ is a vegetable?"

In a very un-stealthy manor they all turn their heads to take a look at the duo, who is now standing in a faraway corner, having an obviously heated discussion. The only person, who's profusely attempting to _not_ look at them is Traci.

"Cucumber," Nick tries to guess earning him an arched eyebrow from his girlfriend.

"Try again, _Army Boy_," Gail kisses him softly on the lips before their guessing game continues.

"Tomato," Sam playfully joins in earning him a slap on the knee by Andy.

"Your humor is as always _not _humorous, Swarek," she grins at him before nibbling playfully at his lips.

With all the kissing and touching going on between her friends, Traci is feeling like the third wheel, and apparently so is Celery because when she looks in their direction, the young woman all but stomps the floor before tearing off towards the exit.

Marlo's eyes find Traci's from across the room before walking in the direction of the women's restroom. She wants to follow her, but can she? The courage that she felt when singing has dissipated – leaving her with an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"It's Celery," she says causing the lip locks around the table to cease, while Andy and Gail agree on it being the right name.

"Shots all around!" Dov catcalls returning to the group. When the shots have been by Traci a couple of times, and she's taken one at each passing, she's feeling her courage inflate – much like it had when she'd been standing up on the stage.

Not only _that_, she's also feeling aroused. Her body is tingling with wants, cravings and a desire for the woman she hasn't been able to get out of her mind for the past week.

Traci excuses herself from her friends, and walks in confident strides towards the women's rest room. She doesn't know what's gotten into her, besides the alcohol that is. The ache that has settled in the pit of her stomach only has one outlet.

And that's Marlo.

Pausing at the door leading into the women's rest room, Traci gathers her shattered senses. Placing her hands against the wooden door, she presses the handle down before pushing the door open.

On the other side of the door, she finds Marlo standing by the sink.

Her head is bowed, eyes closed and her hands are placed by the edge of the sink. Traci notices that her knuckles are white, undoubtedly from restraining her temper. It doesn't take a genius to see that Celery's antics at the bar have riled Marlo up.

Something about _that_ very fact makes a warmth spread through Traci.

_She_ may not be ready to share her feelings for Marlo with her friends and colleagues, but the TO's feelings for Traci are anything but fickle, they're constant.

Apparently Cruz has noticed that someone is standing inside the restroom after the sound of the door closing has sounded in the room. "Celery," she sighs squeezing her eyes closed, while Traci walks towards her. "I'm really not in the..," Marlo's words are cut off when she's turned around by a firm grip on her upper arm.

"Shut up..," Traci whispers holding Marlo's face in her hands slanting her mouth across hers.

"Traci..," Marlo whimpers her name into the recesses of her mouth before wrapping her arms around her waist, molding their bodies together.

Pressing her forehead against Marlo's, Traci tells her, "Come," and she walks backwards with her until they're standing inside a closed stall.

"Traci..," Marlo sighs when her back is pressed up against one of the walls separating the stalls from each other.

"You wanted me to please you from start to finish," Traci's husky voice informs Marlo grabbing the hem off her shirt before yanking it off of the TO's upper body leaving her clad in a black bra. "So, be quiet," she kisses her quick. "And enjoy the ride," grasping Marlo's hips, Traci lowers herself to the floor, while simultaneously showering her torso with wet kisses as she goes.

* * *

"Where's Traci?" Andy asks suddenly aware that her best friend has been missing from the festivities for quite some time.

"Dunno," Gail shrugs before letting herself be caught up in Nick's loving arms and that thing he does that makes her go completely docile.

What is going on with her?

One minute she's hell on wheels holding a microphone between her hands, and the next she's disappeared on them.

"Nash can hold her own, McNally," Sam promises her kissing her softly on the temple.

"I'm just gonna go see if she's in the restroom," Andy declares pushing her chair back to stand up.

Sam groans aloud, pinching the bridge of his nose, as he watches her walk in the direction of the restrooms and a possible explosive situation.

"Hey, Swarek? You okay?" Dov asks noticing how pale he looks.

"Yup!" he exclaims nodding his head exaggeratedly. "I'm great!" Sam gives Epstein a thumbs-up before taking a big gulp of the brown liquid in his glass.

* * *

"Oh my God..," Marlo gasps when Traci bites at her abdomen, soothing the sting with her tongue immediately after. Her finger tangle in Traci's tresses, as her tongue dips into Marlo's bellybutton making the woman shudder violently.

Popping the button off her jeans, the Detective looks up at the TO for an okay signal. Marlo nods her head in small motions feeling the zipper being lowered.

"You're beautiful," Traci moans nibbling on the skin right above the waistband of Marlo's panties. Her hold on Traci's hair tightens, as she lowers her jeans, while biting and licking her skin, needing to taste and brand Cruz – all at the same time.

She feels her stomach muscles twitching underneath Traci's mouth, her skin is warm to the touch, and when Traci lowers the jeans to the floor, her only thought is that she wants to see more of it.

"Fuck!" Marlo hisses out loud, banging her head against the wall when Traci licks her through her panties. The sound of the door to the restroom opening has them both alert putting a stop to the deliciousness that Traci has been applying her body with.

"Trace?" Andy's soft voice calls out.

Placing her arms underneath Traci's armpits, Marlo hoists her into a standing position. Tossing her head in the direction of where Andy's voice is coming from, Cruz indicates that Traci should reciprocate.

"Yeah?"

"You okay, Trace?" she asks concerned.

"Yup!" Nash's voice hitches just as Marlo wraps her hand around one perfect breast hidden by the white blouse and bra that she's wearing. "I'm fine..," she says with a stupid grin plastered all over her face when Cruz starts applying small kisses to her throat.

"Alright..," Andy shrugs her shoulders before turning on her heel and disappearing in the direction of where all the music is coming from.

"_That_ was close," she breathes when Marlo's kisses turn bolder with her adding her tongue to the mix making everything Traci's thinking turn to mush.

Tilting her head back, she shakes her head at Cruz before grasping her hips and lowering herself to the floor again.

She inches Marlo's panties down her thighs with a whimper escaping her mouth. Parting her folds with two fingers, Traci presses her mouth against her clit and licks.

Her hips begin to move in circular motions matching the sucking that Traci is applying her clit with. Moving her hands to Marlo's hips, she helps her find her climax, leaving her tongue to lap up the juices of her arousal.

* * *

When her eyes find Traci's again, she's smirking at her. That secret smile of hers that tells Marlo that she's quite pleased with herself.

"Get up here," she orders quietly.

Traci frowns at that, "I thought you said..," she begins but Marlo catches her under the arms, yanking her upright again before licking her way into her mouth. Traci curls her arms around her neck, while she holds her head still stroking her tongue with hers.

Once the need for air becomes too great to withstand, they pull away from each other to pull some much-needed air into their restricted lungs.

"That was…amazing," Marlo whispers tucking Traci's disheveled hair behind her ears. "I thought you said, you hadn't done anything like this before?"

"I haven't…on a woman," Traci explains blushing furiously enjoying Marlo's fingers on her skin. "I've done it, y'know…on men, the equipment might be different, but the mechanics are the same," she giggles upon seeing a smirk on Marlo's face.

"Come here," Cruz kisses her way into her mouth, as she hitches Traci's leg around her hip.

"We have to make an appearance soon," Traci argues.

"Not yet." Marlo shakes her head before their lips meet in a soft kiss.


	4. Friendship

**A/N: **Sorry for the long delay in posting this next chapter ... hopefully it won't take me as long to post chapter five ;)

I'm so grateful for the reviews and favorites :)

Feedback is love :)

Again ... many thanks rookieD for looking this through.

* * *

[chapter four]

* * *

**Friend-ship (n). A friendly relation or intimacy. (Synonyms: companionship, fellowship, company.)**

* * *

Last night had been amazing. Traci still can't wrap her mind around the fact that she has actually gone _down_ on Marlo.

She's not embarrassed about it, and she's not regretting it or anything like that, but Traci just can't believe how fast this other woman has become an integral part of her life.

Traci's obviously never had a relationship like this before – _if_ they're even having a relationship at this point. They've been having crazy passionate kisses and explored each other in bathrooms, but she wants more than that.

But there's still Leo to think about, and Traci knows that if things with Marlo are supposed to go beyond what they're doing now, then they need to discuss her son.

Before any of that can happen though, they need to talk about what _they_ want, Traci needs to know what Marlo _wants_, and she imagines that she wants the same from Traci.

"Earth to Nash!" Sam waves a hand in front of her, standing in front of her desk having caught her daydreaming.

"Sam!" Traci exclaims caught off guard. "I'm sorry, I was..," she tries to explain, but he waves her off calmly. If anyone, Sam knows what's been occupying her mind lately. He's the only person who knows about her and Marlo.

In a way it's a comforting thought to have a confidante that knows Marlo, and that Traci can talk to when she feels alone with her questions about where this is going. She's not delusional, she knows that Sam probably isn't keen at the prospect at talking about Traci being with Marlo, but he's been a great friend, and just to get a second opinion will go a long way.

She notices that Sam is eying her cell phone on the desk, and Traci realizes that it's ringing. She grabs it, eying the caller-id. She feels a shiver run through her when the name of Leo's school flashes back at her.

"It's Traci," she replies quickly dreading what Leo's teacher is about to tell her.

"Hi Traci, this is Carol," his English teacher tells her hesitantly. They have had plenty of talks regarding Leo and how he's been coping with Jerry's death these past couple of months. Traci knows that something must have happened for his teacher to call her in the early afternoon.

"Hi Carol..," she answers the woman's greeting. Every fiber inside of Traci wants to immediately know what has happened, but she knows that she needs to keep calm.

"I'm sorry to call you in the middle of the day, Traci," Carol begins in a voice that tells Traci that the woman is holding back some information from her. "But I'm afraid that I need you to come in, and pick up Leo."

"Pick him up?" Traci asks dubiously. Her eyes immediately meet Sam's, who is still standing by her desk watching her phone call with Leo's teacher intently. Sam has become an important part of their family, and to have a male role model that her son can relate to is something that Traci will forever be indebted to Sam for.

'_What's wrong?' _Sam mouths to her, but this time Traci waves him off, and refocuses her attention on the woman on the other end of the phone.

"Yes..," Carol hesitates before continuing. "I'm afraid Leo has been in a fight today, Traci."

"A fight?!" she all but shrieks aloud making Sam place a comforting hand on top of one of her rigid shoulders.

"Yes, during recess he and Michael Owens got into a fight, and it took two teachers to tear them apart. They're both saying it's the other's fault, but it's school policy to have both boys picked up by their parents," Carol explains to Traci.

"Of course..," she nods her head, while Sam rubs her shoulder soothingly. "I'll be right there." Traci tells Leo's teacher before ending the call.

Leaning her back against the chair, Traci covers her face with her hands – exhaling deeply. She has felt Leo's anger getting worse lately, but never in a million years had she thought that he'd take it out on a classmate. Times like these, she wishes that she weren't the single mom that she really is.

Traci loves Leo like nothing else in this world, but the stress of being solely responsible for him, while also making a decent living out of the job that she loves isn't an easy feat.

"What happened?" Sam asks perching on the edge of her desk.

"Apparently..," she says looking up at him. "My son has become a fighter in recess," Traci tries to quip, but fails miserably.

"Trace..," he admonishes her.

"Sorry..," Traci apologizes bowing her head in defeat. "I just don't know what to do anymore, Sam. He's still dealing with Jerry being gone, and doing _this_ job, while having to be a full-time mother to him and dealing with my own feelings about Jerry's death – it's just…It's a lot, okay?"

"I know," Sam nods his head knowingly. "Go on, and get him."

"What about the files?" she asks eying the files they have been working on for the past week trying to piece together the case they're supposed to be building.

"You go pick Leo up, come back here and finish up. Leo can certainly sit still for a couple of hours, while you type up the rest of it."

"Yeah, you're right," Traci tells him grabbing her jacket off of the coat hanger. "Thanks, Sam." She tells him heading out of their office.

"No problem."

* * *

"God!" Marlo exclaims clenching her eyes closed. She dumps her ill smelling shirt into a bag knotting it closed to keep the stench from filling the entire room.

She and Price had been picking up a drunk for decent exposure when he'd decided to throw up all over their squad. As fate would have it, Marlo had been sitting in the backseat with him with Price up front driving.

Wrapping her fingers around a hanger in her locker, she pulls an extra uniformed shirt off of it, and is putting her arms through the sleeves when the locker room door opens, and in walks a very distressed Traci Nash.

Walking into the locker room Traci is so wrapped up in her thoughts of having to pick up Leo, that she doesn't even notice Marlo standing by her locker.

Opening her own locker, Traci reaches in, and grabs her bag – looking through it to make sure that she has all the essentials. A couple of days ago, she'd been at the Supermarket with Leo, and when it had been time to pay at the register she had discovered that she'd forgotten her wallet at home.

To say that she has been occupied with other things lately would be putting it mildly.

Taking a step forward, Marlo places a hand on Traci's shoulder whispering "Hey..," with her hoarse tone of voice.

Traci closes her eyes when she feels Marlo's firm hand on her shoulder. She's missed her touch despite the fact that it has been less than twenty-four hours since she's last felt that very touch.

"I'm fine," she tells her on a sigh not wanting to get into anything Leo-related with Marlo yet. They haven't even met yet, so there is really no reason to drag Marlo into what has happened today with Leo.

Marlo smiles to herself. "I didn't ask if you were fine," she tells Traci turning her around with a firm hold on her shoulder. "What is it?" she asks concerned. Looking into Traci's saddened face, Marlo's certain that something has indeed happened with her. A need to take care of her is something that Marlo can't shake.

"It's nothing," Traci maintains drying away a tear with the back of her hand not even having realized that she'd been tearing up.

She lowers her head unable to look into Marlo's questioning eyes. The thing of the matter is that Traci _does _want to open up to her, but at the same time she also feels a need to protect Leo. Adding in the fact that he's been fighting at school doesn't really put Traci's mind at ease at his capability of being able to deal with Marlo.

"Don't do that," Marlo rebukes her. She wants Traci to open up to her, to tell her what's wrong and to accept her help. That's all she wants to do.

"Don't do what?" she asks confused shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't shut down on me," Marlo elaborates. "Something has clearly happened and I want you to let me help you."

Traci keeps her head down sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. She's torn between wanting to let Marlo help her and needing to take care of things herself – like she's always done.

"I have to go..," she tells Marlo – not letting on what it is she needs to do, just that she needs to go.

"Look at me," using her thumb and index finger on Traci's chin, Marlo tilts her head up. "Is it Leo?" she asks.

They haven't really talked about him before – only in the context of what his reaction to their relationship might be, and Traci's concerns around that very fact. But what Marlo _does_ know is that if Traci's worried it's almost one-hundred percent sure that it's Leo she's worried about.

"He got in a fight."

Marlo's eyes widen at that statement. "Oh my God is he alright?" she asks tucking an errant stray of hair behind Traci's ear.

She nods her head. "He's okay, I'm just gonna go and pick him up," Traci tells Marlo looking into her concerned eyes.

"You coming back here?" Marlo asks her hesitantly feeling a need to be there for this woman standing in front of her, but having no idea how to do just that.

"Yeah, still have some work to finish up." Traci says.

"Good," Marlo nods her head repeatedly. "I'll check in on you later."

"You don't have to do _that_," she shakes her head, trying to appease Cruz' need to be there for her.

"Yes, I do." Marlo maintains with a soft smile finding Traci need to do everything on her own humbling as well as exasperatingly.

"Thank you," Nash smiles back at her gratefully. Then she frowns noticing for the first time that Marlo is standing in front of her with her shirt unbuttoned showing off a black lacey bra. "Is this a new type of uniform that I don't know about?" Traci quips fingering the front clasp of Marlo's bra.

"Ha-ha!" Marlo retorts. "A guy decided to decorate the back of the squad in vomit," she explains suppressing a moan when Traci trails her index finger down her stomach.

"See you later?" Traci asks pulling her finger off of Marlo's warm skin when a uniformed officer enters the room.

"Most definitely," she agrees.

* * *

"It wasn't my fault!" Leo whines forty-five minutes later when Traci is driving them back to 15 Division.

"So it was all Michael's fault, eh?" Traci raises a brow at her son when she's stopped at a red light thumbing the steering wheel in irritation.

"He's got a big mouth."

"I don't care, Leo!" Traci turns around in her seat glaring at her son. "You do _not_ settle disagreements with your fists, you understand me?!"

"Mom..," Leo starts to say, but Traci doesn't give him a chance to say anything.

"Understood?!"

"Yes." Leo answers lowering his head, while Traci puts the car into drive and makes it across the inter-section.

"I'm really trying here, honey. We _all_ are. I know that losing Jerry has been hard, but at some point we need to move forward."

"Whatever," Leo shrugs looking out the window. Noticing that they aren't going home, he turns around to look at his mother again asking where she's taking them.

"I need to get some work done before heading home," she explains feeling her son's piercing gaze on her face.

"What else is new?" he grumbles quietly making Traci wince.

* * *

"How is he?" Sam asks when Traci enters their joint office with a scowl on her face. He eyes Leo sitting outside their office on a chair.

"Mad at me," she plops down at her desk throwing the file she'd been working on earlier open.

"It'll be alright," Sam says. He hates seeing Traci so desolate. She's been through her fair share already, Leo too. "You want me to talk to him?" he offers.

"Thank you, but I think this is one thing I need to deal with on my own." Traci tells him.

"You got it." Sam nods his head. "But if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Thanks." Traci smiles at her friend, as she watches him grab his jacket on the way out. She watches as Sam squats down in front of Leo, talking to him before heading out.

* * *

"We're gonna head to _'The Penny'_ – you in?" Gail asks Marlo two hours later in the locker room after their shift has ended.

Pulling her hair into a pony tail, Marlo tells Peck that she already has plans. "Thanks though," she shouts after her and McNally, as they make their way out of the locker room.

She doesn't really _have_ plans; she just doesn't want to leave in case Traci needs something. They did on some level agree to meet up _here_ later after she'd picked up Leo.

It's not that Marlo even has the faintest idea on how to deal with kids. She has no experience with them – outside of the job that is. And in over fifty percent of those cases, the outcomes hadn't been ideal. But she needs to make an effort with Leo if she's to have a future with Traci – he's a part of the deal.

Pulling a belt through the loops of her skinny jeans, Marlo tightens the buckle taking in her appearance in the mirror displayed on the wall behind her. She has on a turquoise tunic with a deep V-neck accentuating her generous cleavage. Marlo steps into a pair of ballerinas before grabbing her duffel out of her locker.

She can't even remember when she's last made this much out of her appearance. It's been a long while since she's last _wanted_ to make an effort regarding her looks.

* * *

Walking between the many desks, Marlo raises her eyes to see if she can catch sight of Traci at her desk. She doesn't see _her_. But she _does_ see Leo.

Taking a deep breath, she hitches the duffel higher up on her shoulder before walking towards him on trembling legs. It's a wonder that after having been responsible for how many arrests now, that a kid Leo's age makes her feel so inadequate.

But it's of course because he alone has the power to make whatever her and Traci _are_ disintegrate if he can't deal with his mother dating another woman.

The thought is dizzying.

"Who are you?" Leo asks and Marlo realizes that she has been staring at him for a couple of minutes probably without saying a word.

"Marlo!" she exclaims making Leo arch an eyebrow. "Cruz. Marlo Cruz. That's my name," she stutters wanting to slap herself for being so nervous around a kid.

"At least you know your own name," Leo retorts scuffing his shoe against the carpet. "You friends with my mom?" he asks looking up at her.

"Yeah..," Marlo drops her duffel on the floor figuring that Traci hasn't mentioned her at all to him. But then again - why would she? "We're good friends."

"She's busy, but you can sit with me and wait if you want," he shrugs his shoulder uncommitted watching Marlo peer into the office. True to his word, she sees that Traci is busy typing away at her computer.

"Thanks."

"So, you married?"

"No."

"Boyfriend?"

"Nope." Marlo shakes her head in the negative.

"Why not?" Leo asks eying her curiously. All of his mom's friends have boyfriends, and before Jerry died, so did she. He briefly wonders if it's normal for a woman her age _not_ to either have a boyfriend or a husband.

"I don't know," she shrugs her shoulders. "I guess, I just never found someone I could see myself settling down with," Marlo looks into the office again finding that Traci is now on the phone with someone.

"My mom isn't seeing anyone either," he sighs.

"You want her to?" she asks him.

"I guess," Leo mumbles. "I just want to see her smile again, like she did back when Jerry was alive." He says looking away from Marlo apparently having found something very interesting on the carpet the way he's staring at it.

"You miss him a lot don't you?" she asks.

"Yeah..," Leo nods his head keeping his eyes trained downwards.

Feeling Traci near, Marlo looks up to see her standing in the doorway of the office watching the exchange between the two.

The tears that have gathered in the corners of Traci's eyes tells her that this is probably the closest she's gotten to hear about her son's most inner thoughts. It's normal after a loss to cut yourself off from the people that love you, and Leo's behavior today at school has been classic textbook.

"Is that what the fight was about?" Marlo asks feeling brave all of the sudden. She's usually no good at this feely-touchy stuff, and most often let her riding partner or one of the rookies deal with it, but having Traci so close by fuels her courage.

"Michael was going on about this Basketball League next month, and how I'd be the only one there without a dad." He says making Marlo frown. "Andy and mom are taking me because Uncle Sam has made plans to go visit his sister," he offers up as an explanation.

"So, you hit him?" she asks.

"Only because he shoved me first!" Leo maintains looking up for the first time, noticing his mother standing behind Marlo. "Mom, I'm sorry."

Traci hurries past Marlo to squat down in front of him. "I miss him too, honey," she cups his face in her hands making him look into her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I understand that Michael hurt you today, but Leo, fighting is never the answer to anything. Promise me you'll talk to me or Uncle Sam before you even _think_ about doing anything like this again."

"I promise." He nods his head slowly before leaping into Traci's open arms and letting her engulf him in her embrace.

Marlo looks on with tears in her own eyes at the sight of mother and son hugging in front of her. "Besides," she begins as Traci and Leo pull apart to look at her. "Jerry has always been crap at playing basketball," she quips making Traci and Leo laugh through their tears.

"He was," Nash nods her head in agreement. "He couldn't even beat Sam."

"And Andy can beat _him_." Leo adds feeling good about going to the Basketball League for the first time in ages. He might not have a dad there with him, but he will have his mom and Andy.

'_Thank you'_, Traci mouths at Marlo when she's helping her son into his jacket a couple of minutes later.

Hitching her duffel onto her shoulder, Cruz figures that it's time she high-tails it back home. "I'll see you in the morning then," she says as a way of goodbye, but is stopped in her tracks when Traci's voice beckons her to stay.

"How do you feel about pizza?"

"Pizza?" Marlo asks stunned.

"Alright!" Leo exclaims pumping a fist in the air at the prospect of getting pizza for dinner despite everything that has happened today.

"You sure?" she asks looking from Traci's hopeful face and to Leo's radiant eyes. "I don't want to impose on you guys."

"My mom is out of town for the moment, and I'd enjoy a dinner conversation about something other than how cool Justin Bieber's looking these days," Traci jokes with a glowing smile on her lips.

"Then I'd love to," Marlo answers smiling big at her.

* * *

A giant family pizza box later, they are gathered around Traci's dining room table stuffed completely full – the three of them.

"He's so cute!" Leo gushes running through the pictures on Marlo's cell of her pride and joy; her German Shepherd – Milo. "When can I meet him?" he asks looking at the woman with stars in his eyes.

Marlo shrugs small because she really has no idea what to tell him.

Is this _thing_ they're doing right now a one-time thing or does Traci see it going any further? Like meeting their families, spending weekends at the swimming hall, picnics in the park? Marlo is just so confused, so instead of putting her foot in her mouth, she takes a big gulp of red wine steeling herself for Traci's answer to her son's question.

"We'll see, honey," she ends up saying. Pulling Marlo's cell phone out of Leo's hands, she tells him that it's time for bed. "It's a school day tomorrow morning."

"Okay..," Leo drawls out the word handing the cell phone over. "Thanks for dinner, Marlo," he smiles at her. Cruz had insisted on paying for the Italian goodness of their dinner after Traci had generously invited her to join them for dinner.

"You're welcome, Buddy," Cruz smiles back at him before Leo's making his way towards the bathroom.

"Teeth!" Traci calls after his retreating back making Marlo frown at her. "He has a loose connection with his tooth brush," she winks at her pushing her chair back to gather the empty pizza box along with Leo's empty soda can.

"I see," Marlo nods her head in understanding watching Traci walk into the kitchen to dispose of the items in her hands. Picking up their empty wineglasses and bottle, she follows Nash into the kitchen. "Was it okay?" Marlo asks placing the glasses and bottle by the sink making Traci grimace at her not understanding what she's asking. "_Me_ talking to him earlier," she explains.

"You were _great_," Traci tells her making the knots in Marlo's stomach evaporate.

"You really think so?" she asks leaning against the sink watching Nash walk towards her. "I'm not exactly great with kids."

Traci smiles at her tucking a tendril that's gotten loose from Marlo's ponytail behind her ear. "It didn't show."

"You really think so?" Marlo can't keep from smirking at Traci's praise.

"I do."

The air is crackling between them when Marlo's eyes lock onto Traci's lower lip. All she really wants to do is to bite on that thing, but knowing that Leo's in the apartment causes her desire for this woman to be put on the backburner – for the time being at least.

"Mom!" Leo's voice calls from the living room signaling that he's ready for bed.

"Welcome to my world," Traci winks at her before making her way into the living room followed closely by Marlo.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Traci and Marlo are sitting on the couch going through an old photo album filled with photographs of Leo growing up.

He'd fallen asleep pretty much the second his head had hit his pillow. Marlo had watched Traci arrange the duvet around Leo's small shoulders.

Her eyes had caught sight of the framed photograph standing on Leo's bedside table illuminated by the lamp sitting behind it. In the photo Leo was covered on one side by Jerry and Traci and on the other by Sam and Andy.

Traci had probably put it there to remind her son of all the people who loves him, and who'll protect him no matter what. The sentiment had brought tears to Marlo's eyes.

" .God," Marlo speaks in staccato as a photo of Leo and Traci dressed up for Halloween has caught her eye in the album.

"Why did I ever agree to this?" Traci wonders out loud watching Marlo's eager eyes taking in the vixen-clad Traci holding a pumpkin-clad Leo on her hip.

"How long ago was this?"

Squinting her eyes at the image, Traci says, "About six years ago I think."

"You _looked_ hot!" she exclaims.

"Gee, thanks!" Traci quips pretending to be outraged at the fact that Marlo just used the past tense about her allure.

"You _are_ hot." Marlo amends her earlier statement using the present tense.

"Right..," she drawls out the word unable to keep her mouth from curling into a grin.

"Come here, you," Cruz coaxes Traci to turn her face towards her. "You're gorgeous, Trace," Marlo kisses the tip of her nose before adding. "Absolutely beautiful."

"Really?" Nash asks lowering her eyes feeling uncomfortable with all the praise that Marlo is throwing her way.

"Hey..," she tilts Traci's chin up to look her in the eyes. "Don't hide, not from me. We've been doing that for far too long already."

Sucking in a breath, she watches as Marlo's plush lips come nearer and nearer. She closes her eyes feeling the texture of the other woman's lips on hers.

The kiss is soft and hesitant – not anything like any of the kisses they've shared up until this point. It can of course be due to Leo's presence in the apartment, but Traci chooses to believe that it's because _this _is different.

They're not playing around anymore.

They're getting to know each other.

They're _them_.

* * *

**A/N2: **Next up - it's Leo's birthday, and Traci takes a necessary next step.


End file.
